﴿ وَأَخْذِهِمُ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ وَقَدْ نُهُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَأَكْلِهِمْ أَمْوَٰلَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ ۚ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَٰفِرِينَ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًۭا ﴾

“and [for] their taking usury although it had been forbidden to them, and their wrongful devouring of other people's possessions. And for those from among them who [continue to] deny the truth We have readied grievous suffering.”

When a group opts for a self-styled religion instead of the divine religion, it decides upon certain self-styled signs to show its religious status. According to the temperament and circumstances of its members, it formulates new rules about what is lawful and what is unlawful, and by sedulously observing them, it shows that it adheres to religion more than others do. The religion of such people is based on excessive care for certain outward forms, as opposed to paying proper attention to the spirit of the religion’s rules. By fully observing the form they are completely satisfied that they have been following their religion to the letter. Such so-called adherents of religion are not afraid of deriving worldly benefits from the ways forbidden by God and they are not afraid of putting obstacles in the path of the divine caller. Such people will be bracketted with the patently irreligious, far from being grouped along with truly religious people. There were certain people among the Jews, like ‘Abdullah ibn Salam, who believed in the Prophet Muhammad and fully supported him. Those who are not caught up in human interpolations in their religion; who have discovered the original divine religion; who have risen above the mentality of prejudice, blind imitation of their community’s ways and opportunism, find no obstacle to their recognizing the truth and surrendering themselves to it. They can see the truth despite all kinds of mental blocks. These are the people who will be ushered into the Paradise God has prepared for them.